Investigation of the influence of maternal infection with Wuchereria bancrofti on the humoral and cellular responses of neonates to filarial antigens.

Epidemiological data indicate that maternal filarial infection might be associated with increased susceptibility to filarial infection in offspring. To examine the influence of maternal infection on development of antifilarial immunity in neonates, paired cord and maternal sera and mononuclear cells were collected in an area where Wuchereria bancrofti infection is endemic. Anti-filarial humoral responses (IgG, IgM and IgE) non-parasite-specific humoral responses (total IgE), proliferation induced by filarial antigen and production of cytokines (interleukin-2, interleukin-4 and interferon-gamma) were all monitored. Few cord serum samples had detectable antifilarial IgM of IgE and neither these responses nor total IgE levels differed as a function of maternal infection status. Of cord-blood mononuclear cells assayed, a relatively small proportion exhibited reactivity to filarial antigens. Based on these limited responses to filarial antigens, few neonates display evidence of in-utero sensitization to filarial antigens.